The Weird Weeds - Help Me Name Melody

The Weird Weeds
Help Me Name Melody
(2010, Autobus Records)
RIYL = Deerhoof, Blonde Redhead

What can I say about The Weird Weeds? That they’re perennially underrated? Sure, but I don’t think that The Weird Weeds are much worried about popularity contests or receiving their rightful due. What I can say is this: among their tight, airy, outsider indie-pop discography, Help Me Name Melody is their best. It’s a towering, intelligent achievement that spotlights all of the subtleties of what makes The Weird Weeds so great. And that’s just it - the subtleties. The Weird Weeds have a way of twisting the standard indie-rock set into something just short of an indian burn - slightly bitter, but with repeated listens something addictively palatable and mind expanding (is that really what an indian burn is like?). Help Me Name Melody, offers additional evidence of the band’s amazing musicianship as well, serving up amongst their pop offerings a happy helping of instrumental workouts that bow and coil, flip, burn and relax. It really fleshes out the album into something unique and refreshing. Honestly, I don’t know if it is the band name or what, but I can’t help but relate the music, mentally, to a tasty array of fresh, local vegetables. Listening to Help Me Name Melody tastes delicious and feels rejuvenating, like you are doing something good for your body; for your ears. As much as indie rock stardom may be an afterthought for The Weird Weeds (as it always should be), there is a part of me that really hopes Help Me Name Melody expands The Weird Weeds’ listenership, because an album this wonderful could do a lot of good in the world. Simply Excellent.

-Thistle

Note: having one of the more explicit album covers of the year, Help Me Name Melody immediately qualified for the Forest Gospel cover redesign prize, and won! Congratulations! Hope you like the new version!

The Weird Weeds - I Miss This

The Weird Weeds
I Miss This
(03.2008, Autobus)
Verdict = Sunny, Rewarding Experimental Indie Rock/Pop

Forest Gospel has a new Puppy! Yeah, that’s right, now in addition to listening to music, writing grammatically problematic reviews and then trying to correct said grammatical problems after the fact, we also have to make sure that our new canine mascot isn’t gnawing on our laptop chords or “eliminating” on our floors. Fortunately for the puppy we are a complete sucker for those guilty “who me?” eyes. Fortunately for us The Weird Weeds is a perfect clumsy, sunny, terrific compliment to our new friend. Straddling the line between indie rock and pop and adding a healthy amount of creative structuring to their songs, The Weird Weeds are both accessibly lovable and confoundedly unpredictable as our little pup. It is with a fair amount of excitement that I apply sunny air to I Miss This. I love when a band can manage to spark a smile from me when in the midst of their experimental contortions. The music hearkens reminders of seasoned musical compatriots that spark similar smiles like Deerhoof and Curtains and probably some others that I am not thinking of. I Miss This strolls pleasantly through progressive and familiar territory, alternating between a swelling ruckus and whispery childhood secrets. I think the other most striking imagery that comes to mind when listening is tree forts and paper hats. All and all it is just a fun, adventurous record that hits all the right spots.

-Mr. Thistle

The Weird Weeds - "A Goose"